


Ways To The Soul

by Higuchimon



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: All ships are only referred to, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Asuka is aroace, Diversity Writing Challenge, F/M, GX Month 2020, Gen, M/M, One Character Boot Camp, Other, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26870680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higuchimon/pseuds/Higuchimon
Summary: In a world where soulmate marks can appear anytime from birth onwards, Asuka doesn’t have anything.  As time goes on, she begins to realize that’s exactly the way she wants it.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Ways To The Soul

**Title:** Ways To The Soul  
**Characters:** Asuka, Fubuki|| **Ships:** Yubel x Juudai, Ayanokouji x Ran, Misawa x Tania, Shou x Black Magician Girl, Ryou x Yuusuke, O’Brien x Sea God’s Priestess (all referred to)  
**Chapter:** One|| **Words:** 1,629  
**Genre:** Friendship, Romance|| **Rated:** G  
**Challenges:** Diversity Writing, YGO soulmates Aus, D7, 1-shot; One Character Boot Camp, Tenjoin Asuka, #4, category; GX Month 2020, Free Day #3  
**Notes:** Soulmate AU where Asuka doesn’t have a mark. There are infinite ways to find one’s soulmate in this AU.  
**Summary:** In a world where soulmate marks can appear anytime from birth onwards, Asuka doesn’t have anything. As time goes on, she begins to realize that’s exactly the way she wants it.

* * *

“So what kind of a soulmate mark do you have?” The question came from one of her classmates; she couldn’t remember their name anymore. It had been a good many years since then. But it was innocent – almost everyone asked that kind of question sooner or later, especially if the answer wasn’t obvious. 

Not all of the ways were. Not everyone had a clearly marked countdown on them or a mark waiting to glow at the right time or a name written on themselves. There were less obvious ways, of course, such as sharing dreams or healing via touch or when one couldn’t see colors until meeting one’s soulmate. There were even a few rarer ones – such as those who sprouted wings upon meeting their soulmate. 

And in all of her years, Asuka hadn’t experienced any of that. No signs or clocks or names upon her, and she’d never shared a dream or felt anyone else’s thoughts and she could see colors as well as anyone else. 

But they asked. It was just a _thing_. Sometimes marks didn't show up right away, after all. 

“You really don’t need to worry about it,” Fubuki told her one afternoon, not long before he was to start his first year at Duel Academia. “I mean, there are so many ways that you could find a soulmate!” He strummed a little at his ukulele. He still wasn’t very good at that. 

“I didn’t say I was worried about it,” Asuka replied, going through her deck. She still had two years before she could start at the Academy, but she did have a very important duel against one of her friends that weekend and she wanted to do her very best. 

Fubuki blinked at her. “I know you are. You don’t have to lie to me. You’re worried because you’re one of the rare ones.” He tapped his fingers on his instrument for a few seconds. “You know, I bet you’re a Name-speaker. So there’s no way you’ll know your soulmate until they say your name.” 

Asuka debated the ethics of grabbing the nearest magazine and whacking him upside the head. It was a very tempting thought. She kept her focus on her deck instead. The magazine hadn’t been invented yet that could get through his thick skull. 

_Why won’t he believe me?_ As far back as she could remember, she’d never been interested in having a soulmate. Once she’d checked out a book from the library about all the different ways that one could find one’s soulmate, and spent a very informative weekend checking herself to be sure that she didn’t possess any of them. She’d contorted herself into many unusual configurations making sure that there weren’t any marks on her back before giving up and asking Junko to check for her. 

She’d never had a mark. She decided at a very young age that she didn’t _want_ a mark. There were a couple of people that as she got older, she found mildly interesting but that was it – a mild interest than happily settled itself into warm friendships over and over. 

Time ticked by, as it had a habit of doing. Fubuki went on to Duel Academia and vanished before the ending of his first year. Asuka held fast to the hope that he would return – Fubuki carried a song in his heart, a beautiful melody that his soulmate would know the other half of when they heard him singing. Because of that, he would return. She held faith in that. 

Being able to spend time with Ryou helped ease the loss of her brother. She never asked about the odd mark on his right hand – the one grayed out, as if his soulmate perished. He never talked about it either. 

She met others who had marks or signs of some kind. Juudai proudly showed off the name on his left arm, written in yellow and green – Yubel. A name she’d never heard of before – nor had Juudai. He held out hope that he would meet them one day, though. 

Momoe’s timer wouldn’t run down until she was close to twenty-five. Junko already shared dreams with someone who she wouldn’t name. A few casual conversations she overheard indicated other options – rumor had it that Ayanokouji Mitsuru and Kouchou Ran ended up as soulmates, having brushed against each other at a duel tournament and knowing in that moment. 

Quite honestly, Asuka could hardly go anywhere without talk of soulmates. They were almost as hot a topic as dueling was. At least Ryou never spoke of his mark, and once Juudai determined that no one in school knew who Yubel was, he was far more interested in talking dueling anyway. Misawa looked forward to late May of the following year, when his mark decreed he would meet his soulmate. Manjoume didn’t have a mark either, but he told a few tales about how his family tended to have the rarer signs, such as being a HealTouch or a TruthTeller. He had hopes of turning out to be a Name-speaker himself. 

Shou’s mark was different from Ryou’s. Not all family members who had marks shared them, after all. His mark wasn’t one o the visible ones – he couldn’t see color at all, and wouldn’t until he met his soulmate. 

Hayato had a name on his wrist as well, not one that anyone recognized. He said nothing about it, but Asuka suspected that he hoped he’d meet this “Sugiyama Takara” when he went to Industrial Illusions. 

With every year that passed, there were more people who had marks. Some of them didn’t ask about hers – she would forever be grateful that Jim Cook wanted to talk more about geology than the mark on his own hand – but there were always those who could not help but press to know about hers and so many of them offered the same platitudes when they found out that she didn’t have one. 

Most of those were the same ones that Fubuki offered before, promising that there were so many different ways that just because she didn’t have one _now_ didn’t mean she’d never have one. It could happen any time. Maybe she was just a late bloomer. There would be someone for her. 

“Maybe I don’t _want_ someone!” Asuka snapped finally, on a day close to the end of her third year, when Fubuki checked in again to make sure she hadn’t had any shared dreams or unusual emotions overnight. 

Fubuki stared at her, mouth open slightly, but no words coming out. He blinked a few times before he did manage to say anything. 

“Are you sure?” 

At least he didn’t deny the possibility. She gave him that much credit. 

“Not yet. But it’s the best option I see so far.” She’d never really been more than superficially interested in anyone anyway, and never romantically. Potential dueling opponents only interested her. Not to mention she hadn’t yet decided what it was she wanted to do with her life. She waffled between teaching – which did have an appeal – and trying to enter the Pro Leagues or entering research related to dueling. Ayukawa-sensei had also suggested that she study medicine for duel purposes. With more injuries turning up related to the game, those who knew how to deal with that kind of ailment remained in high demand. 

There was just always so much to do that _wasn’t_ romantic and she wanted to do it. 

Fubuki drew in a long breath and, of all things, smiled at her. “All right. I’ll stop asking. If that’s what you want, then I just ask one thing.” 

Asuka crossed her arms over her chest. “What?” 

“If you ever do decide to date someone – with or without a soulmate mark – let me know, please?” He tried to look a little like a puppy dog but she’d seen all of his looks growing up. That meant nothing to her. 

But what he asked, she could do. “I will. Just don’t wait for it.” 

Fubuki nodded. Asuka suspected it would be abut a week before he asked again. 

At least more people were finding their soulmates and thus had less to talk about with their marks. Juudai knew who Yubel was – had fused their souls together, in fact. Asuka had to say she’d never heard about that before. Hayato wrote them all a mass e-mail gleeing over having finally met Sugiyama Takara. They hadn’t started dating yet but Hayato hoped to ask his fellow card designer out for tea sometime in the near future. 

Misawa had settled happily into the Amazon Village with Taniya. It hadn’t taken long before he’d built a device that could transmit between the worlds – sort of a souped up mobile phone, as he’d described it, and started to make arrangements for long-distance lessons. He would be graduating with them, even if he couldn’t physically be there. 

She’d learned that Professor Chronos also didn’t have a soulmate identifier of any kind, and she’d spent some time with him just talking about how sometimes their lives were far less complicated than those of their friends. She would miss being here for him. 

As soon as Juudai defeated Darkness, Ryou’s mark flared into full life again – as did the matching one of Fujiwara Yuusuke. They hadn’t spent much time apart since then, learning about one another all over again. A great deal had changed between the last time they’d seen one another and now. 

Maybe she would develop a soulmate attachment or fall in love in a different way. Non soulmate relationships existed, after all. She could see it when O’Brien visited Sea God’s Priestess. But right now, that wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life, and she couldn’t imagine being any other way. 

* * *

**The End**

**Notes:** Asuka is asexual/aromantic in this. She doesn’t have a romantic soulmate at all. If she were going to have a platonic one, it would probably be Jim and/or Mizuchi. I might go into further detail on some of the ships mentioned here, and ones I didn’t mention (such as Edo and Saiou, who share an emotional link once the Light isn’t an issue anymore). But not right now. I’m getting ready to start finishing WIPs and write stuff that’s not GX.


End file.
